World of McIntosh: Listening to the Sonus Faber Serafino Tradition

The McIntosh Group had set up representatives of the new Homage Tradition loudspeaker line in different listening rooms, scattered throughout the WoM Townhouse,and then invited their dealers, distributors and the local press to wander about, to see, touch and taste.

The top floor of the Townhouse was my personal favorite, and it had only a little to do with the two Eames loungers they had available for us to loll about in. I have a great listening chair at home, but the Eames is something else entirely. That leather is ohmigoodness and the overall comfort is end-scene-time-to-nap. I am extremely envious of those with this chair in their listening rooms, even knowing full-well that this chair would add absolutely nothing to my ability to get shit done. Zippo. Zilch. Nada. Nuh uh.

In sharp variance with the other rooms, this setup featured McIntosh Labs electronics. A lot of McIntosh electronics, actually, but I’m not entirely sure what was actually being used. I saw the lovely MT5 Turntable, a pair of McIntosh MC75 amplifiers, an MB50 streamer, but also another suite of McIntosh gear “down below”, including a pair of MC2301 amplifiers that I think had to do with a multi-channel system already installed in the room. Sadly, I didn’t think to ask what was being used. I just basked.

Visually, this was the most arresting of the setups and by far the most inviting. Seriously — the urge to “just be” in this room was nearly overwhelming. The ceilings were way above, the side-walls way to the side, the light was as soft and gentle as a kiss, and on this day in mid-winter, this was the place to be. Of course, the wet bar and big copper tub didn’t hurt, either. The light in this “penthouse” area is due to the enormous windows spilling out onto the adjacent terrace, which while visually stunning, was not exactly friendly for acoustics. In fact, this room had no room treatments at all (understandably, as they would likely encroach on the riveting decor), which pretty much eliminated the ability to render judgment on the sound of the gear being shown, even with the extreme toe-in on the speakers. It was a pity, as I have a hunch that these are the real jewel in the line. Vocals were excellent, however, and given that the McIntosh gear has a reputation (or so I’m told) of being a bit sweet or dark or mellow, I can tell you that this is not what I heard in the room. The rest will have to wait — in the meantime, please enjoy the photos. Hopefully, they’ll give you a sense of what we got to see and hear.

I’ll close by saying that the Serafino is a lovely speaker and it’s beauty is simply undeniable. Again, I prefer the Wengè finish to the Traditional Red, myself, as the sharp color-contrasts between the wood and aluminum trim are both modern and lux in a most refined sort of way, but I fully expect YMMV. I want to say that the MC75 monos would be marvelous amps to pair with these speakers, and if someone would just kindly wrap all this up and send it on over (yes, the room too), that would be just spectacular.